Green Park Station

The issue:

Plans for a new station at Green Park in Reading are underway.

Achievements to date:

May 2014 Alok made the case for the Green Park Station during a Parliamentary debate

July 2014 - £6.4million of government funding will go towards to the building of the station, as part of the Local Growth Deal. The building of the station will go ahead following the electrification of the Reading to Basingstoke line

December 2014 - Green Park Station has its business case approved by the Berkshire Local Transport Body. The Berkshire Local Transport Body (BLTB) is a partnership of the six Berkshire authorities and Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which has been established to prioritise funding for local major transport schemes devolved from the Department for Transport.

October 2015 - Alok met with the Right Honourable Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport to discuss proposals for a new station at Green Park Business Park in Reading.

November 2015 – Hendy Review published by Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy, indicated that electrification to the Reading to Basingstoke line (on which Green Park station will be located) will be delayed until 2019, which would result in an extra cost to allow trains to stop at the station before the lines were electrified.

December 2015 – Alok met with Rail Minister Claire Perry MP, to again discuss Green Park station, following the publication of the Hendy Review. Claire Perry confirmed that the electrification of the line would be delivered, but she would investigate what could be done to ensure that trains could begin running at Green Park station at the earliest opportunity.

July 2017 - Reading Green Park is one of five stations chosen by the Department for Transport to receive investment through the £20 million New Stations Fund. The station will receive £2.3 million towards the total project cost of £16.5 million and will be open by March 2020.

Next steps:

Alok will be meeting with Rail Minister, Paul Maynard, later this year in the constituency so that they can update on Green Park Station progress.

Alok says:

“I am delighted that the Government has allocated more funds for rail investment in the UK and that it has recognised Reading’s need for improvement. This investment at Green Park will hugely improve journeys for passengers and support the economy in the local area. I have long campaigned for a new station at Green Park, which will create new jobs and provide a rail service to many homes and I see this as a real step forwards towards creating the new station.”